The mission of San Bernardino de Awatobi was built on the southern side of the eastern part of the pueblo on the edge of the cliff, and its walls are the only ones of Awatobi now standing above ground. From the situation of these walls, as compared with the oldest part of Awatobi--the western mounds--I believe that San Bernardino mission was, when erected, beyond the limits of the pueblo proper--a custom almost universally followed in erecting pueblo mission churches--necessary in this instance, since from the compactness of the village there was no other available site. The same was true of the missions of Oraibi and Shuñopovi, and probably of Old Walpi. As time passed additional buildings were erected near it, this eastward extension altering the original plan of the town, but in no way affecting the configuration of the older portion. From its commanding position on the edge of the mesa the mission walls must have presented an imposing appearance from the plain below, rising as they did almost continuously with the side of the cliff, making a conspicuous structure for miles across Antelope valley, from which its crumbling walls are still visible (plate CVIII). When compared with the masonry of unmodified pueblo ruins the walls of the mission may be designated massive, and excavation at their foundations was very difficult on account of the great amount of débris which had fallen about them. With the limited force of laborers at my command the excavations could not be conducted with a great degree of thoroughness. In the middle of what I supposed to have been the main church there was much sand, evidently drift, and in it I sank a trench 10 feet below the surface without reaching anything which I considered a floor. We found in excavations at the foundation of the church walls fragments of glass, several copper nails, a much-corroded iron hook, a copper bell pivot, and fragments of Spanish pottery. From the character of these objects alone there is no doubt in my mind of the former existence of Spanish influence, and the method of construction of the mission walls and the addition constructed of adobe containing chopped straw, substantiate this conclusion. Supposing, from the architecture and orientation of other New Mexican missions, that the altar was at the western end, opposite the entrance to the church, I sank a trench along the foundation of the wall on that side, but encountered such a mass of fallen stone at that point that I found it impossible to make much progress, and the fact that the floor was more than 10 feet below the surface of the central depression led me to abandon, as impossible with my little band of native excavators, the laying bare of the floor of the church. [Illustration: FIG. 255--Ground plan of San Bernardino de Awatobi]